


In Perfect View

by geckoholic



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Developing Friendships, Earth Customs Are Very Confusing, Gen, Late Night Conversations, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-10-23 14:16:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17685050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geckoholic/pseuds/geckoholic
Summary: Anne and Venom discuss the etiquette of PDA while an oblivious Eddie snores on peacefully.





	In Perfect View

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cupidsbow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cupidsbow/gifts).



> This is a bit of friendship, a bit of romance, a bit of Venom adjusting to earth customs. Not a lot of either, lol, but I still hope it jives with what you were hoping to read!
> 
> Beta-read by cloudatlas and skullbearer. Thank you both!! ♥ All remaining mistakes are mine.
> 
> Title is from "Movement" by Hozier.

Anne never put much stock into the idea of staying friends with an ex. Her type, before Dan, has been a bit peculiar and, she suspects, was still rooted in an overextended teenage rebellion against her parents' wishes regarding the type of man she ought to marry. 

Admittedly, that's a weak theory, given that her parents aren't even super conservative, but point is, she mostly dated men with lives that were very different to hers. None of her breakups were awful. She doesn't hate any of her exes. She wishes them all the best in life. They just didn't cross her path much anymore after those relationships ended. 

Maybe she should have known that Eddie would be the exception. Eddie has a habit of being exceptional in the oddest and most unexpected ways. Anne has come to terms with the facts that she might not be _in love_ with him, and yet she still _loves_ him. Luckily, so has Dan. And Eddie... well, Eddie might have been a bit preoccupied lately with figuring out the exact nature of his feelings towards someone else. 

It's late Friday night, Dan is at a medical convention, and Anne is sitting next to a softly snoring Eddie on the couch in front of the TV in an apartment they used to share. The latest channel just switched to infomercials like the two before it and so Anne yawns and stretches, her attention landing on Eddie instead. 

She sees black markings move over the skin on his neck and up his jaw, and smiles at his contented sigh. Her former boyfriend and current best friend is in love with an alien symbiote and sometimes it's so stunningly obvious that said alien symbiote loves him back. The gentleness and care in their touch speaks volumes and it serves to dissipate her doubts about that relationship. Anne has become rather protective of Eddie after the ordeal with the Life Foundation, what with the experiments and saving the world and watching him fight another alien goo inhabiting an evil genius while trying to keep a rocket ship from launching in order stop a whole alien goo invasion. Just. It was a lot. And Eddie, for all his bluster, gets hurts so easily. 

She reaches out and traces the pattern of tiny tendrils that are caressing Eddie's skin. She sucks in a breath, surprised, when the tendrils move and grow. She pulls her hand back and soon Venom's head pokes out from Eddie's shoulder. 

_”I apologize,”_ Venom rumbles and looks down, indeed seeming rather contrite. They look caught, even though it makes no sense. 

Anne is confused. “What are you apologizing for?” 

Venom tilts their head. _“Public displays of affection are considered impolite,”_ they recite, and Anne can tell that's something Eddie must have pointed out to them repeatedly. _“So I apologize.”_

“This hardly counts as public,” Anne says. The words come out sounding way more accusatory than she meant them. It makes her feel like an outsider, like she doesn’t belong, doesn’t deserve to witness the growing bond between them. For some reason, that _stings_. Going over the brief stint with Venom inside her head, however, doesn’t give her any indication assume their aim is to shut her out. They’re just trying to navigate the customs of a world not their own. She gives the symbiote an apologetic smile once the penny drops. “Don't worry, I don't mind you expressing your love for Eddie when I'm around. He's very important to me and it's good to know that you care about him. To hear you say it, or to see it with my own eyes.” 

Venom squints at her. _”So it is okay to touch Eddie in your presence? It is not inappropriate?”_

“No.” She nods in approval. Then the possible extent of said touching occurs to her and she has to bite down on a laugh, adding, “As long as it's above the waist.” 

Now Venom looks thoroughly confused. _“Only his torso, then? I do not understand.”_

“What I mean is,” Anne explains, “don't try to arouse him or get him off while I'm in the same room.” 

The squinting resumes and Venom looks like they'd scratch their chin in thought if they were human, or bothered to form the necessary appendages. They do seem to come to a conclusion, though, because they give her a solemn nod of their own. “I promise. Eddie would not like that either, I think.” 

Venom smiles, which will never not look somewhat terrifying on that face, and more miniature tendrils swarm out from where Venom emerges. After another minute or two, their head retracts back into Eddie's body and they are once again reduced to those small tendrils that gently slither over Eddie's skin. 

Anne shifts on the couch, a little closer. She briefly places her hand over the newly forming patterns, squeezing lightly, and then leans forward to pick up the remote control and find a late-night program that doesn't make her want to gouge her eyes out.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://lostemotion.tumblr.com) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/spacenerdz).


End file.
